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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at the Iowa City Public Library in Iowa City, Iowa, on July 7, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton ‘desperate,’ ‘sad’

GOP presidential candidate Doland Trump on Tuesday called Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 'desperate' after the former first lady attacked him for his comments over Mexico and illegal immigrants. Published July 14, 2015

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New Jersey take a person into custody on March 28, 2012, during Operation Cross Check III. (Associated Press/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) **FILE**

Hundreds of released illegals convicted of kidnapping, homicide

More than 1,000 of the criminal aliens immigration authorities released into the community while awaiting deportation in 2014 were then convicted of still more crimes ranging from kidnapping and sexual assault against a child to vehicular homicide, according to statistics released Tuesday. Published July 14, 2015

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers escort an arrestee from an apartment building in the Bronx borough of New York during a series of early-morning raids on March 3. (Associated Press)

Victims of illegal immigrants’ crimes to testify to Congress

Those who have suffered at the hands of illegal immigrants have been invited to testify to the Senate next week on the crimes they or their families faced, as GOP lawmakers in Congress try to refocus the immigration debate away from legalization and toward enforcement. Published July 13, 2015

Despite anti-crime credits, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is failing to gain much traction as a presidential contender. (Associated Press)

Martin O’Malley attacks ‘hate-spewing’ GOP over illegal immigration

Former Gov. Martin O'Malley blasted "hate-spewing" GOP presidential candidates Monday as he made his own appeal to win over Hispanics, vowing to expand on the record he amassed in Maryland, where he said he "forged a new consensus" behind pro-immigration policies. Published July 13, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks in the garden of Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran take place in Vienna, Austria, Sunday July 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Iran plans major celebration over nuclear deal

Iran is already making preparations for a major celebration declaring the looming nuclear deal a success for the Islamic Republic, Iranian news agencies reported Monday as negotiators met in Vienna to work out final details. Published July 13, 2015

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this May 20, 2013, file photo. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Sanctuary cities policy in GOP cross-hairs

Seeking to shift the immigration debate's focus to the victims of criminal aliens, Republicans this week vowed to punish states that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities in deporting illegal immigrants. Published July 9, 2015

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the stark number of missed contraband items looked bad "out of context," but said the tests were important in trying to advance TSA's mission. (Associated Press)

Illegals refuse to give up three-year amnesties

The Homeland Security Department is predictably having a devil of a time trying to get illegal immigrants to send back their three-year amnesty approvals, administration lawyers said as they admitted to a federal judge Thursday, saying that more than 40 percent of them remain outstanding. Published July 9, 2015

Former Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta (Associated Press) **FILE**

Fed data hack reached staggering 21 million

Federal officials acknowledged Thursday that hackers managed to steal information on more than 21 million Americans from the government's background check computers, including details of their health and financial histories, as the shocking outlines of the breach finally became clear. Published July 9, 2015

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in this March 26, 2015, file photo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Nancy Pelosi: Take down southern flags with Confederate symbols

Democrats demanded Thursday that Congress rip down any state flag displayed by the U.S. Capitol that includes the Confederate battle emblem, sparking a bitter battle with Republicans who have been sent reeling by the flag debate. Published July 9, 2015

In this June 28, 2015, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, to talk about the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congress pulls bill amid Confederate flag fight

South Carolina will pull the Confederate battle flag down from a Statehouse memorial Friday, but the national debate over the flag showed no sign of waning as Democrats in Washington, sensing momentum, moved to furl state flags at the Capitol that still include Confederate symbols. Published July 9, 2015

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican. (Associated Press)

James Sensenbrenner, Robert Scott draft criminal justice reform

The government today can't even list all of the federal crimes it could use to charge someone -- a symbol of just how out of control the national criminal justice system is, said Reps. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. and Robert C. Scott, two senior congressmen who hope to change the face of the nation's prison population. Published July 6, 2015

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, June 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama defies federal judge, fails to rescind wrongly issued amnesties

The Obama administration still hasn't fully rescinded the 2,000 three-year amnesties it wrongly issued four months ago in violation of a court order, government lawyers recently admitted in court, spurring a stern response from the judge who said the matter must be cleaned up by the end of July — or else. Published June 29, 2015

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop at Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Mo., on June 23, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi emails withheld from State Dept., panel says

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't turn over all of her work-related emails to the department despite her claims to have done so, the Benghazi investigative committee charged Thursday in a statement raising new questions about the Democratic presidential candidate's email practices. Published June 25, 2015

President Barack Obama walks out with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California after meeting with House Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 12, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Congress clears final major piece of Obama trade deal

Congress cleared the second part of the trade package Thursday after House Democrats reversed themselves and voted for new assistance for workers displaced by free trade agreements, cementing fast-track negotiating powers President Obama will use to finalize a major Pacific Rim deal. Published June 25, 2015

Lois Lerner is the former IRS official at the center of a controversy over how the agency treated conservative political groups. (Associated Press) **FILE**

IRS erased Lois Lerner’s emails even after subpoena, audit says

The IRS erased backup takes with Lois G. Lerner's emails even after the messages were subject to a congressional subpoena, but it was an "unbelievable" chain of coincidences rather than a malicious intent to subvert Congress, the tax agency's inspector general said Thursday. Published June 25, 2015

President Barack Obama walks with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right and House Minority Assistant Leader James Clyburn of S.C., as he visits Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2015, for a meeting with House Democrats. The president made an 11th-hour appeal to dubious Democrats on Friday in a tense run-up to a House showdown on legislation to strengthen his hand in global trade talks (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Congress approves Obama trade powers

Congress granted fast-track trade negotiating powers to the White House Wednesday, surmounting the objections of liberal and conservative pressure groups who'd tried to scuttle the bipartisan deal, which delivers a tremendous win to President Obama. Published June 24, 2015

Congress ponders: OPM data breach could total 32 million Americans

As many as 32 million Americans might have had their most sensitive data stolen in a breach of the federal government's human resources agency computers, lawmakers speculated Wednesday as pressure grew on President Obama to oust the woman who heads the agency that botched its cybersecurity. Published June 24, 2015